08Jul05 (Monthenor): I know it's not "cool" to
speak ill of Miyazaki, but Howl's Moving Castle did not
impress me at all. This is probably not Miyazaki's fault...the animation was
as excellent as ever. It's the story, and specifically the characters, that
didn't make much sense. All their motivations do come together to effect a
happy ending, but the journey there seems disjointed and arbitrary. It's the
best kid's movie in theaters right now (against Herbie and Madagascar), but
it's much much worse than Miyazaki's last two movies.